My Dysfunctional Community Tank

[CadillacJ]

Please read on and tell me if this is normal
 
First let me say that all of my fish are healthy and happy thanks to the numerous friendly and helpful people on this site. I have a beautiful 75 gallon tropical community setup, with a great mix of fish, an odd mix but great none the less. 
Heres the breakdown,
1 Black ghost knife about 5 inches long and only seems to bother my pleco,
1 Pleco who has grown from about 2.5 inches to almost 6 in a matter of weeks so we named him colussus,
1 silver striped angelfish who only attacks other angelfish,
1 blue gourami who is also getting very big very quick,
1 dalmation mollie who is best friends with the angel and gourami (they swim together like a school) but is also a bully to my BGK.we named her dory becase when she is not swimming with her buddies she is swimming in circles in one spot in the tank like shes lost.
I have 4 tiger barbs they are the thunder cats,
1 clown loach who thinks hes a tiger barb,
2 striped kuhli loach ,
1 black kuhli loach,
1 hillstream loach who has claimed the driftwood by the filter as his home,
1 bamboo shrimp who along with my pleco and loach keep the tank very clean,
and my newest addition 1 bala shark, so for so good with the shark he just hides alot. 
 
I will post pictures soon i know i keep saying i will but the ones i have are too large to upload
 
So as for the angelfish, gourami and Mollie schooling together, is that normal for different types of fish to do that? 
And yes the mollie bullys my BGK whenever it comes out to eat. 
 
My tank will be upgraded soon, i had a 125 gallon in storage but it has cracked and is now useless. 

 

[CadillacJ]

Heres some pictures trying to resize the rest so i can upload them 

 

[RRaquariums]

Well that is a very diverse tank normally those types of fish don't get along at all but each tank is different so if they are all getting along fairly well then my hats off to you sir good job and cool pics

 

[CadillacJ]

heres some more

Well that is a very diverse tank normally those types of fish don't get along at all but each tank is different so if they are all getting along fairly well then my hats off to you sir good job and cool pics

Thank You, they all get along very well, no issues, only problem i had was when i tried to add another angelfish, it was attacked right away by the one i already have. 

 

[RRaquariums]

Yeah angels are kinda jerks lol

 

[BerryAttack]

the black ghost knife goes the the pleco because he is territorial and is defending his territory.. give a cave or something so he can have. also they need a min of 100 gallons as they get large and will eat any fish that can fit in their mouths.
the angel will most likely kill the other one because they are the same gender and wasn't raised together.. keep your favourite one and rehome the other.
the molly should be in groups, all females or all males or one male per 3 females.
tiger barbs are semi-aggressive and need a group of around 8-12 so they can stay together, be active and not harass other fish. they can go after any showy fish like your angel.
the clown loach get HUGE, and also are schooling fish and is cruel to only keep one... have in group of 6 and also upgrading the tank as they grow will be needed.
also with the kuhli loach they are schooling fish and need groups of 4-6 for each species.
i do believe that the hillstream loach is a schooling fish (correct if wrong) and should be in groups.
the bala sharks also get huge, they are schooling fish and need groups of 6.. that's why he/she never comes out.
the bamboo shrimp will most likely get eaten by the barbs, angel, BGK or any fish in your tank.
 
please research the fish before you buy them.. your stocking is in the shits and needs some working on to keep your tank happy and healthy.

 

[attibones]

I agree with BerryAttack. You really need to focus on getting your stocking in order. 

 

[Jbram]

That is a very diverse tank.  I have raised bala's and they are very active, I had 6 in a 6 ft. tank and they used every inch of it to cruise around it.  They are community fish and needs some buddies, you will enjoy them a lot more but you will need a larger tank.
 
I have a Dalmation Molly in my tank that is a rescue fish, a neighbor was going to flush him.  He is a bully, or tried to be to my school of tetras.  Now that I have Angels he is not so aggressive, I think the angels keep him at bay.  I would like to find him a happier home but so far no one I know wants Molly's but I can't bring myself to drop him off at PetSmart.
 
Good luck with your tank.  Having diverse and varied fish is nice but I have found my tank is more enjoyable with less variety and larger groups of fish.  They seem happier and are out more.  They come to the glass and I can admire them where I never saw half my stock when I first set my large tank up and had more variety of fish.
 
 
If you can, when you upgrade your tank keep your 75 for some of the smaller varieties in that one and increase the school sizes of each then move the larger breeds to the new tank with larger grouping in that tank.  I think you will find your fish are more active and are more enjoyable.

 

[Xzavier247]

Very diverse tank! Can we get a full frame picture of the tank lol 

 

[noobgamers]

sweet community i like dory and the clown loach

 

[CadillacJ]

the black ghost knife goes the the pleco because he is territorial and is defending his territory.. give a cave or something so he can have. also they need a min of 100 gallons as they get large and will eat any fish that can fit in their mouths.
the angel will most likely kill the other one because they are the same gender and wasn't raised together.. keep your favourite one and rehome the other.
the molly should be in groups, all females or all males or one male per 3 females.
tiger barbs are semi-aggressive and need a group of around 8-12 so they can stay together, be active and not harass other fish. they can go after any showy fish like your angel.
the clown loach get HUGE, and also are schooling fish and is cruel to only keep one... have in group of 6 and also upgrading the tank as they grow will be needed.
also with the kuhli loach they are schooling fish and need groups of 4-6 for each species.
i do believe that the hillstream loach is a schooling fish (correct if wrong) and should be in groups.
the bala sharks also get huge, they are schooling fish and need groups of 6.. that's why he/she never comes out.
the bamboo shrimp will most likely get eaten by the barbs, angel, BGK or any fish in your tank.
 
please research the fish before you buy them.. your stocking is in the poops and needs some working on to keep your tank happy and healthy.

All of my fish were researched prior to buying/rescuing them. The clown loach and bala shark were rescued from a tanks all by themselves, and  i will get more once my tank is upgraded. My fish get along very well and have been for almost 9 months with the exception of the bala shark who is new. Most likely due to the fact they are well fed and kept in perfect water conditions. 

 

[sawickib]

the black ghost knife goes the the pleco because he is territorial and is defending his territory.. give a cave or something so he can have. also they need a min of 100 gallons as they get large and will eat any fish that can fit in their mouths.
the angel will most likely kill the other one because they are the same gender and wasn't raised together.. keep your favourite one and rehome the other.
the molly should be in groups, all females or all males or one male per 3 females.
tiger barbs are semi-aggressive and need a group of around 8-12 so they can stay together, be active and not harass other fish. they can go after any showy fish like your angel.
the clown loach get HUGE, and also are schooling fish and is cruel to only keep one... have in group of 6 and also upgrading the tank as they grow will be needed.
also with the kuhli loach they are schooling fish and need groups of 4-6 for each species.
i do believe that the hillstream loach is a schooling fish (correct if wrong) and should be in groups.
the bala sharks also get huge, they are schooling fish and need groups of 6.. that's why he/she never comes out.
the bamboo shrimp will most likely get eaten by the barbs, angel, BGK or any fish in your tank.
 
please research the fish before you buy them.. your stocking is in the poops and needs some working on to keep your tank happy and healthy.

Plus 1, just gonna add the black ghost knife has a tremendously large mouth, if you think it just a tiny hole your wrong, look at the crease and how far it goes back. They grow to be about 12-16" and will eat everyone that fits in his mouth.
 
You have a common pleco that gets 2 feet long, and needs a very large tank. Your BGK is attacking him because their both territorial and hide.
 
Tiger barbs should have large groups to lessen aggression to each other and themselves, and are notorious fin nippers.
 
Mollies need groups as well, thats why hes sticking with the gourmai and angelfish. 
 
The clown loach needs 6+ in a group and a 150 gallon minimum tank, they grow to about 12-16"
 
The other loaches need 6+ of their own species as well. 
 
The bala shark also needs HUGE tanks and large numbers they are very skittish and can break their spines from running into the glass.
 
Having any bullying in the tank should not be tolerated and you should fix the situation, this is a very bad tank and needs lots of fixing.
 
Dont take me as attacking you, im just telling the proper way to care for them.

 

[CadillacJ]

Thanks you everyone for your concern, i am aware that my diverse community tank is not normal and that some of my fish should be kept with more of the same kind, again most of my fish were rescued from LPS and my tiger barbs came from someone who moved. 
And i orignilly had 5 mollies but only one survived, bad ich ifestation from LPS
 
Once my larger setup is complete i will move the BGK and and Pleco, along with the clown loach and bala shark) i will ad others 
 
this was supposed to be a hobby that ended up a rescue mission 

wow everyone going at me like i did something wrong, if you could see how well they all get along i assure youd be surprised. I understand how big these fish get, but when you buy them from a LPS they are very small and young, and i have plenty of time. Not new at this family owned and operated pet stores in NY for years, 

Very diverse tank! Can we get a full frame picture of the tank lol 

absolutely i will post one asap

 

[sawickib]

Its not rescuing fish if your putting them in a bad environment anyway, and your just supporting your LPS to bring in more of same fish into the same situation.
 
You need a much larger tank to properly care for balas, larger than i think your going to have, at least 8-10ft long.
 
Its not like you did anything wrong, but your keeping the fish wrong. Thats the problem when you buy the tiny fish mot arent aware of their potential size, and most dont get the proper tank before its to late. 
 
Your BGK has the potential to eat your striped and black kuhlis, bamboo shrimp and mollie. 

 

[CadillacJ]

alright well thank you everyone for going off topic and badgering me about my tank, once again I understand how big these fish get i knew that when i got them, my BGK is very capable of eating the others once he gets larger and by than he will be in his 150 gallon, the only fish i was not aware needed a school was the clown loach and will correct that problem when my new setup arrives. 
 
Thanks